Florida Truck Driver Helps Save Unresponsive Man

David Miller has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) for his help in saving a man's life. Photo courtesy of TCA.

David Miller, of Palatka, Florida, a professional truck driver for Celadon Trucking of Indianapolis, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association. He is being recognized for performing CPR on an unresponsive driver.

On Jan. 25, Miller was at a Pilot Travel Center in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, when he saw a man fall to the floor, unresponsive. He quickly raced over and performed a sternum rub to see if the man would respond. After receiving no response, Miller began performing CPR until emergency medical services arrived, helping to save the man's life.

For his willingness to assist his fellow driver, TCA presented Miller with a certificate, patches, a lapel pin, and truck decals. Celadon Trucking also received a certificate acknowledging Miller as a Highway Angel.

EpicVue sponsors TCA's Highway Angel program. Since the program's inception in Aug. 1997, hundreds of drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage they have displayed while on the job.

Related: Highway Angel of the Year Rescued Driver Stranded in Flood

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T-Mobile to Offer Cloud-Based Telematics Product

T-Mobile will offer a cloud-based fleet management telematics system called SyncUP FLEET this fall under a partnership with Geotab, the wireless provider announced.

The product will be available for $3 per month on an interest-free 24-month equipment installment plan with a $15-per-month unlimited mobile data plan per vehicle. The provider will offer the product this fall.

SyncUP FLEET includes connected hardware and a cloud-based platform with tools that fleet managers can access from their smartphone, tablet or desktop. The system includes a connected device that plugs into a vehicle's on-board diagnostics (OBDII) port. Customers then create an online account to enable the telematics system.

T-Mobile will offer limited pricing of no money down plus $3 per month for 24 months at 0% APR. A credit approval, deposit, and $25 SIM starter kit may be required. The plan includes 200 MB roaming and unlimited data at 512 kbps.

In October, T-Mobile plans to launch its 5G wireless network in Las Vegas. The company began testing earlier this year with Qualcomm and Ericsson. The company plans to operate a narrowband network for connected devices by the middle of 2018 that will support Cat-M, an Internet of Things standard for solutions that require voice support.

Related: 11 Innovators in Telematics

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Senate to Hold Hearing on Automated Trucks

Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Photo: Office of Sen. John Thune

On Sept. 13, Senator John Thune of South Dakota (R), will convene a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to examine the potential benefits and impacts of automated commercial vehicles.

Titled “Transportation Innovation: Automated Trucks and Our Nation's Highways," the hearing will look at the benefits of automated truck safety technology as well as the potential impacts on jobs and the economy. It will focus on trucks, buses and other heavy-duty vehicles as part of bipartisan efforts to draft self-driving legislation.

While the House on Sept. 6 passed a bill that could help speed the development of self-driving cars, the legislation makes no mention of commercial vehicles. It has been reported that commercial vehicles were cut out of the measure as a sop to labor unions that see self-driving trucks as a threat to jobs.

“Self-driving technology for trucks and other large vehicles has emerged as a pivotal issue in Congress' attempt to help usher in a new era of transportation,” said Thune. “This hearing will offer all members of the Commerce Committee the opportunity to hear expert testimony on the future highway safety benefits of applying automated technology to trucks as well as perspectives on excluding trucks from legislation affecting small passenger vehicles.”

Transportation industry leaders scheduled to speak at the hearing including Chris Spear, American Trucking Associations president and CEO; Troy Clarke, CEO of Navistar; Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council; as well as representatives from the Colorado State Patrol and Teamsters union.

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. eastern standard time in the Russell Senate Office Building, room 253. Witness testimony, opening statements and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.

Related: ...Read the rest of this story

2017 HDT Fact Book: Highways

HDT's Fourth Annual Fact Book is an overview of the trucking industry by the numbers. Each of the graphs, charts, tables, and infographics are designed to offer a snapshot of the current industry and serve as a reference guide Check out the full Fact Book in the digital edition.

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Lytx Moves Production of Video Recorders to U.S. From China

Lytx will begin producing its video event recorders in Logansport, Indiana, in March in a shift from the company's prior operations on mainland China, the company announced.

The move brings 70 jobs and a $50 million investment to the area.

Lytx will begin full production in the spring, but will start work at the facility in October, when it will commence validation manufacturing and fine-tune processes. Lytx is contracting manufacturing to Cal-Comp USA, whose Indiana plant produces products for the aerospace, defense, and medical device industries.

"Bringing these jobs to the U.S. makes business sense for Lytx in a number of ways," said Jim McDaniel, Lytx's senior director of operations and supply chain. "With this move, we're actually able to reduce our costs by limiting import tariffs and avoiding overseas transport costs, while still paying above market wages to Logansport factory workers. Indiana is also home to many of our clients and lies within the heart of commercial transportation."

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NTEA’s Fleet Technical Congress to Debut with Work Truck Show

NTEA announced the addition of the Fleet Technical Congress to its "Work Truck Week."

This inaugural event will be held in conjunction with The Work Truck Show 2018 and Green Truck Summit in Indianapolis, taking place March 6, 2018.

At Fleet Technical Congress, fleet managers can explore the latest technology solutions while gaining management insights from leaders of some of the country's biggest fleets and suppliers.

"We see two significant trends acting as change agents in the fleet management world," said George Survant, NTEA senior director of fleet relations. "First, there's a whole new range of technology and tools associated with commercial vehicles that are changing the face of the industry in a substantial way. At the same time, we're seeing a significant refreshing of leadership in professional fleet management nationwide. As a result, we believe this is an opportune time to capture the lessons learned by some of our industry's top fleet professionals who will share their experience and vision as a foundation for the next generation of leaders."

Learn more at worktruckshow.com/fleettechnicalcongress.

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ATA Celebrates National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

Screenshot via Trucking Moves America Forward

American Trucking Associations kicked off National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, a week-long celebration of the trucking industry's 3.5 million professional truck drivers.

Running Sept. 10-16, National Truck Driver Appreciation Week highlights the efforts of professional truck drivers to remind the industry of the important role that truck driver's play in transporting goods across the nation. More than 80% of U.S. communities rely exclusively on truck drivers to deliver goods and commodities, and some remote towns and territories are unreachable by other modes of transportation.

“This week was created to commemorate and support the industry professionals who work daily to deliver America's goods,” said Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO. “Truck drivers are hard-working men and women who practice safety on the roads and serve as the faces of our industry. These drivers improve our collective quality of life by making personal commitments to safety and delivering our critical goods like medicine, food, building supplies and clothing.”

ATA is asking the trucking industry to engage their communities in this week's celebration of truck drivers. Public officials, community leaders, members of the media and local businesses can all play a role in helping to better understand the important work that truck drivers do in safely moving the economy each day. Highway safety is dramatically improved when the motoring public acknowledges the difficulties of driving a truck and the limitations of large commercial vehicles.

In support of this effort, Trucking Moves America Forward, the trucking industry's image movement, is partnering with state trucking associations to run billboard advertisements along key highways to thank truck drivers for their service to the industry.

This year, special attention is being paid to the 1.6 million trucking industry employees who live and work in the direct paths of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. During National Truck Driver Appreciation ...Read the rest of this story